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Medical Causes of Bed-Wetting

Topic Overview

Medical conditions may cause a child to begin
wetting the bed after a period of time in which he or
she has had bladder control (secondary nocturnal enuresis).

Some medical conditions that may cause bed-wetting include:

Diabetes, especially if the child is urinating
more often than normal and/or is more thirsty than normal.

Bladder
or kidney infections (urinary tract infections), especially if the child is
urinating more often than normal and/or complains of pain when urinating. The
child may also have accidental wettings or may leak urine (have damp underpants)
during the day.

Constipation, especially if the child complains of
abdominal (belly) pain and has large, hard stools or watery stool leaking from the
bowel. Children who have stool less frequently than every 2 days may need to be
checked for constipation.

Bladder stones (calculi), especially if
the child has a weak urine stream and complains of pain.

Abnormal
activity of the bladder muscle, especially if the child:

Urinates more often than normal
(frequency).

Cannot hold urine when the urge to urinate occurs
(urgency).

Has leakage of urine.

Has pain while
urinating.

Allergy to bubble bath or soap, especially in young
girls. The symptoms may include belly pain, vaginal burning, and redness of
the genital area.

Infection of the vagina, especially if the girl
has discharge from the vagina.

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